German car manufacturer Mercedes revealed that the production of the V6 turbo engines used by its championship-winning Formula 1 team is contributing around £111.7M ($149.4M) to the British economy, according to Christian Sylt for the London TELEGRAPH. Last month, Lewis Hamilton "steered Mercedes to a fourth consecutive F1 title, and although it races under the German flag," the team and its engine manufacturing division are based in Britain. Mercedes designs, develops and builds its F1 engines at a dedicated factory in Northamptonshire. The local area is named "Motorsport Valley," as eight of the 10 F1 teams are based there. Mercedes' engine division alone had total costs of £126.9M in the year ending December 31, 2016, according to its latest accounts. It said that "the company now employs 571 staff members and contributes over 88pc of its total expenditure within the United Kingdom." At £73.5M ($98.3M), research and development "comprises the bulk of this," with staff paid a further £42.6M ($57M). The economic impact "stretches far beyond that," as Mercedes' engine division deals with nearly 1,500 U.K.-based suppliers including designers, equipment manufacturers and haulage firms. The engines "do not just power Mercedes' own outfit but also the Force India and Williams teams." Revenue of the F1 team "accelerated" 35.7% to £289.4M, fueled by a boost in prize money from winning the F1 title the previous year. However, costs surged 10.7% to £274.9M "due largely to changes to the F1 regulations." After paying £15.9M in tax, the team made a £3.8M net loss. Combined with the £1.5M net profit from the engine division, Mercedes' F1 group was left with a £2.3M loss after tax (TELEGRAPH, 12/25).
